Life & Style writer Carly Cannarozzo reminds us that even in dark times, there are reasons to feel hopeful.
‘We are so cooked.’ It’s a sentiment I’m sure you’ve heard muttered in front of every TV screen lately, and who can blame anyone for feeling hopeless?
We’re living in a post-COVID world, drowning in AI-generated slop, doom-scrolling through what feels like a conservative fever dream, and watching our social landscape morph into some freaky black mirror episode. The pull toward existential despair is strong, to put it mildly. Yet even within this TikTok-addled, existential haze, small glimmers of hope are beginning to surface—and the culture may be shifting, however subtly.
It’s no secret that, after the 2010s, conservatism has steadily clawed its way back from its dip in popularity, shaping far more than just politics. Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have fuelled toxic diet trends, tradwife has become a seemingly reasonable aspiration, and for some reason everything now comes in horrible shades of builder-grade beige. Taken together, these shifts point to a resurgence of traditionalism, a familiar pattern in a culture increasingly steamrolled by conservative values. But the people are tired. There’s only so much performative purity politics a culture can take. Slowly, it seems like being liberal, and not just a carbon copy of Alix Earl, is cool again. Don’t take out that septum piercing just yet.
We’re living in a post-COVID world, drowning in AI-generated slop, doom-scrolling through what feels like a conservative fever dream.
To see this unrest, look no further than NYC’s latest mayoral election. When Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani’s victory was announced on November 4th, the reaction was nothing short of genuinely heart warming. People flocked to TikTok and Instagram to proclaim the young Democrat as “their one and only mayor” despite many of them not even living in New York. Mamdani’s win is about more than one city; it signals a shift in values.
His campaign stood out for its unapologetically progressive policies (free buses, universal child care, a hefty tax on the one percent). However, it was his style of campaigning that reached voters. He actually met people where they were: on social media with content that appealed to younger voters rather than pandering to them, and felt strangely like someone’s uncle trying to ‘connect with the youths!’ He spoke to people in bodegas, preschools, and on street corners, talking to real New Yorkers about their concerns. And in debates and press events, he did the unthinkable: he answered questions and articulated thoughts like a functioning adult, an increasingly rare skill set in modern politics, I fear.
Nothing short of genuinely heart warming.
Mamdani isn’t the only man taking home historic victories. People Magazine recently named Jonathan Bailey 2025’s Sexist Man Alive, establishing him as the first gay man to ever receive the award. “The only thing madder than doing Richard II was to be invited into this,” says Bailey. “And also in 2025, I’m sort of thrilled that People magazine has invited someone in, to bestow this honor on someone who can really cherish the value of a sexy man.” In a world where marriage equality is still being litigated like we’re stuck in a conservative escape room, Bailey isn’t wrong for pointing out the importance of such a moment. Also, any excuse to see Jonathan Bailey on a magazine cover is, scientifically, a net good.
In small but pivotal ways, it feels like the culture is shifting, or at least attempting to. TikTok is collectively abandoning “clean girl” for full 2010s glam (the smokey eye is back, tell a friend). Vogue is calling having a boyfriend “embarrassing” (correct). Palestinian advocate Ms. Rachel is Glamour’s Woman of the Year. And liberal politicians are… kind of… in again? Not “Barack-in-2008” in, but baby steps are still steps.
It feels like the culture is shifting.
Things are bleak; there’s no way around that. But before you resign yourself to the eternal mantra of “we’re cooked,” ask yourself: who does that serve? Because it’s definitely not your community, your joy, your sanity, or your future self trying to get out of bed tomorrow. Focus on what’s good, because I promise, if you look for it, it’s there.
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